Apple Cafe (inside Ingredients HF Store)

It’s a rainy Friday here in Victoria…they said it was going to rain and when they say something it must be true ;). I headed out of the house this morning in sandals and rather summery clothes…and wasn’t I aghast when I came out of yoga and stepped into the downpour that was happening outside. Sheesh. I’ve resisted saying it as I don’t want to conform and be too trendy (as I like to add my own flair to everything!), but I’m going to say it…this really IS JUNEUARY!!!! Double sheesh. The reality of the situation is this…It’s almost always beautiful here in May and everyone gets all excited and overjoyed that summer is here early and then June is almost always cold and rainy…well, this year is no different…good news is, it’s the 22nd of June, which means July is just around the corner…get my drift…so, take this rainy time to get stuff done that you won’t want to do once the sun is shining and all you want to do is frolick outside!!

OK…onto my post for today. It’s a quickie…I just wanted to put a shout out to Apple Cafe inside the (relatively) new Ingredients Health Food Store. Ingredients opened…oh…gosh, maybe half a year ago and I’ve been in there several times now. I mostly have just done a little shopping…they have a HUGE bulk section-including a whole gluten free bulk section as well as herbs, powders, teas, and all sorts of other things that you don’t even know you need…! You can use the little bags they have there for your bulk, or you can bring in your own jars or containers and weigh them empty then fill ’em up and pay for the contents…brilliant. Course, I’m yet to take advantage of this as I’m not that organized, but the idea of it is fabulous! They also have a pretty substantial vitamin and supplement section with a huge variety protein powders and green powders etc., to satisfy any dietary need. As well as all these lovely food selections, they do lectures, events and other fun things there…I’ve yet to attend anything there as I’m always out of town, but I love that they are creating a community down there on top of the great healthy food supply!

So, inside of the store there is also a little cafe-the Apple Cafe. They make pretty well everything there, and have a large selection of things to choose from…you can go for an Yerba Mate latte with fresh almond milk and a gluten free vegan power cookie or you can have a raw kale and kelp noodle salad with Almond dressing and a kombucha…or if you’re craving breakfast, how about an organic free run egg fritatta or a bowl of chia seed porridge? As I said, I had been to the store a few times, and one time got a cookie and tea to go, but today was the first time I sat down and had a real lunch there. I met Wendy there and we both ordered a raw salad…she had the raw falafel salad and I had the kelp noodle bowl salad. I loved mine. It had some kind of almond sauce…kind of asian peanut sauce kind of flair to it…Wendy enjoyed hers as well (I tasted it and it was way too salty for me…she commented that it WAS salty but she LOVES salty so it was good…but we both wondered if there was an error and it wasn’t meant to be that salty…I am still wondering).

The dessert case at Apple Cafe

I’m looking forward to going and eating there again. They do gluten free vegan pizza which looks good as well as raw pizza that I’d like to try…and they really do have eggs and other cooked things…so if you are with non-vegan eaters or what have you, I’m sure everyone could get something they like…

OK…well, that’s all I got for today. I am going to enjoy being in my sweats this afternoon, drinking my tea and listening to the rain fall.

Happy Friday, Kittens…hope the weekend is full of love, sweat and tears of joy.
Love,
Ida x

Hey Ida,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write about your experience of the store. You’re not the only one learning to shop differently with your own containers. But that’s ok, we’ll be here with you while you figure that out!
And as for the salty/ not salty noodle bowl? Hmm, you’re just going to have to visit the Cafe again and ask them there. (I’m just the web guy)

Hi Anthony! Thanks for reading…it was the raw falafel salad that my friend had which was the suspect salty one…I had the noodle bowl and it was perfect!
I’ll try to bring in my own containers for the next time I pop in…;)